Foot question

[dun]

Just noticed today that the outer edges of the hoof wall of the bulls feet are growing curled under the foot. Front feet only. Didn;t check the inside of the foot to see if the same thing is happening there. He's been dry lotted in a muddy(ish) and fairly soft area for the past month. Could that be causing it and is it something that should be looked at as a reason to not keep his daughters? Never seen this before and it seems strange to me

Thanks

dun

 

[cfpinz]

We've never had that problem but I'd bet if you turned him out on some of your lovely rocks they'd wear off evenly. Does it impair his mobility?

cfpinz

 

[dun]

Does it impair his mobility?

cfpinz

Hasn't so far, but he only has to walk 100 ft in any direction to boss the others around, get water or hay. I'll know better June 1 when he comes home and has to start doing his job instead of being on vacation.

dun

 

[KNERSIE]

From my limited experience with hoof problems, we run cattle under range conditions for most part of the year on dry hard rocky ground so there is more natural wear and tear, anything out of the norm on the hoof is usually caused by something higher up.

It depends on how bad it is and how long he'll last with that condition and whether it will wear off correctly before anyone can even guess what effect it will have on the longevity of his daughter. It will definately make me look closer at his daughters before selling them as breeders or retain heifers out of him.

 

[dun]

From my limited experience with hoof problems, we run cattle under range conditions for most part of the year on dry hard rocky ground so there is more natural wear and tear, anything out of the norm on the hoof is usually caused by something higher up.

It depends on how bad it is and how long he'll last with that condition and whether it will wear off correctly before anyone can even guess what effect it will have on the longevity of his daughter. It will definately make me look closer at his daughters before selling them as breeders or retain heifers out of him.

The problem is that this is the first time it's been noticed. May have been there all along. When he walked into the chute for his BSE yesterday the vet noticed it. I'm hoping it 's because of the actual walking conditions, i.e., no rocks or gravel that's kept them from wearing normally.

dun

 

[milkmaid]

What's his front end structure look like?

I've seen it on occasion in the dairy cows... not sure if it's genetic, but it does seem to be influenced by both conformation and environmental conditions (ie soft ground). Sometimes I've also seen it because of a previous injury or lameness (ie abcess) that causes them to walk differently - in those instances it's just one hoof though.